


Cats and Dogs

by nakadoo



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M, souji is a cat dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28983321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakadoo/pseuds/nakadoo
Summary: People never really understood why they got along so well. The two of them were like a cat and a dog: too different from each other to really get along.They are mistaken.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Cats and Dogs

Yosuke wasn’t really a cat person. If anything, he really loved dogs. They were cute and loyal, had a lot of energy to play with, and really a man’s best friend. For the longest time as a child, he wanted a puppy of his own but his parents never allowed it. Too much trouble, too much noise, and too much fur. He had argued with them, begged them, to get a dog, even just a small one with short fur but they always ever said no. For a while he detested them, as children do when they don’t get what they want, but now that he was living alone in a tiny ass apartment a few kilometers away from his university’s campus he understood why they always denied him his want.

As much as he would have loved to have a dog right now, he’s pretty sure that he isn’t exactly the most capable of taking care of one right now even if he loved it with his whole entire heart. For one, he didn’t want to keep the poor pooch locked up in the apartment while he was getting his education. He wouldn’t have enough energy at the end of the school day to bring his dog on a walk. What would be the point of having a dog if he couldn’t even really spend much time with it? The responsible decision for him was to not have a dog. He knows this, but it doesn’t mean that he’s happy about it.

The only way he’s been able to cope with his sad, sad predicament is by taking up a part time job (on top of his already existing part time job) walking his neighbor’s dogs. There are four pet owners in his building and sometimes when they’re too busy on the weekends, or going on a trip for a few days, they ask him to take care of their beloved canine friends. It’s a great deal because he gets paid, and he even gets to fill the dog shaped hole in his heart.

All these thoughts about dogs and yet he finds himself with the fluffiest cat he’s ever seen in his whole life butting her head against his stomach as she purrs in delight. He’s not sure what that means, he knows a lot about dogs but not very much about cats. He wants to pet her, but he also isn’t sure if that’s an okay thing to do. The cats he has met before in his life have always been so finicky and nervous, and he didn’t want to scare this one because she’s really quite adorable.

Souji, his best friend since they were in high school, laughs at the sight before him. “She likes you,” he says, picking up his other cat so that he could cradle her in his arms. He’s quite happy that his beloved cat daughter also likes his beloved best friend. Something about the scene before him is really quite endearing, so he keeps the image locked away in his heart forever. “You can pet her, stupid. You look so stiff haha.”

Yosuke pets her, gently at first, and then she leans into his touch enthusiastically. She grabs at his hand with both her paws, almost like she was hugging him, before nibbling at his fingers in a playful way. He isn’t unfamiliar with playful nibbles, the neighbor dogs tended to do that if they were hungry or just wanted attention. But the feeling of cat teeth is pretty different from dog teeth so he still tries to be cautious.

It had been a few years since he’s last seen Souji in person. His parents, as per usual, hauled him around all over Japan for their work. At some point, that point being now, Souji was sick and tired of it. Decided that he would live alone by himself and continue his studies as an independent adult. His parents, much to all of their surprise, wonder why they never did that to begin with. Souji was always very responsible, and also very capable of taking care of himself. Perhaps, Souji thinks to himself, though his parents have always treated him as a mature young man, they only ever really saw him as their baby boy.

Souji clears his throat to catch Yosuke’s attention. It’s still the summer break, and the new semester doesn’t start until a few weeks. The two of them had decided to move in with each other (the most convenient course of action really) but the only issue was whether or not Souji’s cats would agree to it.

Kiki, the cute little fluffball that she is, seems to be delighted to have Yosuke around. Ponyo, however, seems to still be apprehensive but she’s showing interest in Yosuke as well. He sets her down and walks over to the cabinet where he hides the cat nip. A little bribery to get Ponyo to love Yosuke, so that the four of them could live happily together under the same roof.

Souji crinkles the wrapper of the catnip, catching both of his cat’s attention as well as Yosuke’s.

Yosuke’s hair is all fluffy. This meeting was a spur of the moment sort of thing, a weird idea that Souji had at five in the morning. Yosuke hasn’t even had his morning coffee yet and he still made his way to Souji’s temporary apartment as soon as Souji had called him. He wonders, absentmindedly, why he and Yosuke were such good friends. Countless people who know them usually saw them like cat and dog, too different to get along, and yet he couldn’t imagine a life without knowing Yosuke.

In anycase, he brushes those thoughts aside and sits next to Yosuke on the couch. “It’s catnip,” he explains and makes more noise with the packaging. His cats have the biggest eyes he’s ever seen.

“Like, marijuana but for cats?” Yosuke asks. He holds out his hand and Souji pours some of the dried leaves into it. “I’ve only ever seen videos. Do they really go crazy over this?”

As if to answer his question, Kiki sits on her hind legs and bats at his hand. Her little claws dig into his skin a little bit as she struggles to get his hand closer to her face.

“That’s so crazy,” Yosuke says in bewilderment. He lowers his hand and Kiki rolls right into it as much as she can. Her tail swishes back and forth, and she gets so playful as she rolls around Yosuke’s lap in pure and utter euphoria.

There is a little catnip left in Yosuke’s hand, and with it he extends it over to Ponyo who has been inching towards them carefully and sneakily. She seems a little spooked over being noticed, but the desire to roll around in the catnip is too much to resist. With a hesitant sniff and a lick, she too eventually rolls around in Yosuke’s lap happily.

“You’ve passed the test,” Souji grins. Not that he ever doubted Yosuke. His cats have a good sense of character. “We can now, officially, move in with each other.”

Yosuke snorts and rolls his eyes, leaning back against the couch as he does so. The cats are alternating between being frisky and being too lazy to move. It’s adorable. “I passed, but also cheated,” he clarifies. “Still though, that’s so wild. They really do go batshit crazy over this stuff.”

“Yeah. I’ll show you all the other stuff they like too. So you can win them over.”

Yosuke laughs, and the laugh turns into a yawn. He rubs his eye a little bit before peeking over at Souji. “My apartment building has a few bigger rooms on the higher floors. Pets are allowed there too.”

“That’s great,” Souji says with a nod, scooting a little closer to Yosuke so that their shoulders are touching. He coos at his babies and sighs. He is unbelievably happy right now to have all the things he loves in one place.

Oh?

Love?

Interesting.

“I’m more of a dog person but cats are really cute too, huh--”

Yosuke does not expect the kiss. But somehow, it doesn’t surprise him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hears a voice that yells “FINALLY!!” He leans into it, hums deeply when he feels Souji’s fingers card through his hair before resting at the nape of his neck. He feels Souji pull him closer and he complies, kissing him back like it was the most natural thing in the world.

When they finally pull apart, foreheads still touching, they stare at each other.

Souji grins.

Yosuke grins back.

“Want some breakfast?”

“I’m fucking _starved._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Yosuke's inner thoughts about how much he loves dogs is my constant mood.


End file.
